OSP trooper stops Hwy. 97 speeder N. of Madras; search finds 14 lbs. of heroin in the trunk
MADRAS, Ore. (KTVZ) – A Vancouver, Wash., man pulled over for speeding on Highway 97 north of Madras was arrested after a search of his car turned up nearly 14 pounds of suspected heroin in the trunk, Oregon State Police said Thursday.
An OSP trooper stopped the car shortly before 1 p.m. Sunday near milepost 84, about 13 miles north of Madras, troopers said. During the stop, “reasonable suspicion was developed for drug trafficking,” a news release stated.
A search of the car revealed 11 bundles of drugs in the trunk, with a gross weight of nearly 14 pounds. A preliminary test showed it to be heroin, they said.
The 29-year-old driver was lodged in the Jefferson County Jail on various drug charges. His 23-year-old female passenger was released.
This is an ongoing investigation, OSP said, with no further information being released.
OSP troopers were assisted during the investigation by detectives from the OSP-Criminal Investigations Division-Drug Enforcement Section (Domestic Highway Enforcement Initiative) and the US Department of Homeland Security – Homeland Security Investigations (Medford).
The OSP Domestic Highway Enforcement Initiative is supported by the Oregon-Idaho High-Intensity Drug Trafficking Area (HIDTA).
The Oregon-Idaho HIDTA program is an Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP) sponsored counterdrug grant program that coordinates with and provides funding resources to multi-agency drug enforcement initiatives, including the OSP-DHE Initiative.
